Anisotropic Multiexciton Quintet and Triplet Dynamics in Singlet Fission via Pulsed Electron Spin Resonance

The quintet triplet-pair state may be generated upon singlet fission and is a critical intermediate that dictates the fate of excitons, which can be exploited for photovoltaics, information technologies, and biomedical imaging. In this report, we demonstrate that continuous-wave and pulsed electron spin resonance techniques such as phase-inverted echo-amplitude detected nutation (PEANUT), which have emerged as the primary tool for identifying the spin pathways in singlet fission, probe fundamentally different triplet-pair species. We directly observe that the generation rate of high-spin triplet pairs is dependent on the molecular orientation with respect to the static magnetic field. Moreover, we demonstrate that this observation can prevent incorrect analysis of continuous-wave electron spin resonance (cw-ESR) measurements and provide insight into the design of materials to target specific pathways that optimize exciton properties for specific applications.